gdp's Comments

World In Conversation : Week 8 – Lesson 14: Affirmative Action

Thu, 7 Jul 2011 02:50:02 +0000

I really gained a lot of knowledge this lecture that has really changed my opinions and views on certain situations regarding Affirmative Action. I have always been a white female thinking that Affirmative Action was implemented to help out people of color. I really connected it to schools and businesses having to meet certain quotas to have a specific number of certain people working for them or in their schools. From Sam’s lecture I found out that having quotas are illegal and most surprisingly, that the people to benefit the most from Affirmative Action are white women – like myself. I found it slightly offensive when Sam told his story about how Penn State made him go back and look through all of the applications again to make sure that no one of sex, race, or a specific culture was left out in the final selections. From taking the class and feeling like I know the kind of man Sam is, I just felt like if I was in his shoes, I would have been offended that they thought I was excluding these people based on what they were, not their background and credentials for the position. But once he explained it all, I understood it better. It is true that we grow up learning the way to think and act and believing that it is okay and normal. In reality, we do act a certain way and sometimes stereotyping people and excluding them base upon reasons other than their credentials for a position, whether it is race, culture, sex or allowing nepotism to play a role. The part of the lecture that I was most interested in, was the video shown by Oprah about the urban and inner city kids that changed schools for the day. The inner city kids of Harper High spent the day at a 62 million dollar state of the art facility where the graduation rate is 99%. The students at Neuqua Valley high school spent the day in the inner city Harper High, where the pool hasn’t been filled in ten years and had a leaking gym room. I completely understood the message of the video and the point that they were trying to get across, I just felt like they picked a very extreme school to compare to. I went to a suburban high school and we did not even have a swimming pool, but the inner city school that is 15 min away has a swimming pool at it. The inner city high school also has two high schools; one tailored towards people more interested in vo-tech schooling while the high school right next door is for kids in honors classes looking to continue their education in college. I feel like I agree more with Obama and it is based upon social class. I mean it is terrible and should not be legal to have inner city schools to hold classes in a building that is falling apart, with lower level classes. I feel like these privileges all boils down to the amount of funding and money one area has, but how do you even begin to solve a problem like that. I am not really sure.

World In Conversation : Week 8 – Lesson 14: Affirmative Action

Thu, 7 Jul 2011 02:24:28 +0000

I found your response very enlightening because throughout the lecture I found myself agree with the same statements and learning a lot of the information you did. It was shocking to me as well that the people that benefit the most from Affirmative Action is white women. I also connected it with only benefiting people of color and making quotas. I had no idea that quotas were illegal because I thought they were the only reason why there was such a push for Affirmative Action. But now realizing that Affirmative Action should more or less be linked to social class and helping out the poor before race makes a lot more sense.

World In Conversation : Week 7 – Lesson 13: Immigration

Sun, 3 Jul 2011 23:26:11 +0000

I could not have said your post any better. I agree with what you are saying. I found it really interesting about the video based on American workers that do not want to do the jobs that immigrants do. It was surprising that by the end only 13 have taken over immigrant jobs. I can understand why, but at the same time that doesn’t mean we should allow more illegal immigrants into the country to help out this problem. It was shocking to hear both sides of the story to the battle at horseshoe. I never really thought of how we are only taught the stories that make us look good as a country.

World In Conversation : Week 7 – Lesson 13: Immigration

Sun, 3 Jul 2011 23:03:41 +0000

I thought that it was really interesting that Sam made the point that immigration is not an issue carried out by democratic or republicans, but it is rather something that is run by business. This thought has never crossed my mind but it makes perfect sense now that I know about it. It is apparent that the United States has relaxed their boarders to accommodate the needs of businesses. Companies need cheap labor and it helps that the immigrants come to America to work for cheap prices, which is what runs their industries. It is evident that businesses are calling in the number of immigrants into the United States based off of how many people they need to keep their business open, running and making money. This is shown around the 90’s when the economy was flourishing. Due to the economy doing better, there were a lot of documents and undocumented immigrants coming into society. Another part of the lecture that stuck out to me is when Sam pointed out the fact the people that live in America expect the immigrants coming into the country to shed their language, culture, and customs to assimilate into the society that we consider normal now. Some people in the United States have gotten into heated arguments thinking that these “Mexcriments” do not learn English and our culture because they do not know our history. I found this statement really interesting because there are a lot of United States citizens that do not know the history of the country and they can even speak English. There are lots of talk show hosts that do random questioning on the street about common facts that citizens should know. For example they may be asked who our vice president is, how many sides are on a triangle or name countries starting with a specific letter. A lot of citizens are not able to answer these questions correctly, if giving an answer at all. Here is the link to one of the videos of this happening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE. This just strengthens the argument even more that we are very hypocritical and do not realize how we are before we are judging others for being a specific way. It is usually not the lazy people of a country that chose to go through all of the struggles and complications of becoming and immigrant to another country. These people that enter as immigrants usually have a drive, motivation and desire to want to make money and become something. This is why immigration drives and helps us believe that the free marker is the best way to run things.

World In Conversation : Week 7 – Lesson 12: Multiculturalism & LGBT

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:41:35 +0000

I thought this lecture was really interesting because I did not know a lot of the facts dealing with multiculturalism and why it is inevitable. It was really surprising when Sam brought up the obstacle to amalgamation. I never really thought of the other side before because I always just considered the United States to be a melting pot but not really seeing further into the situation. It was interesting how we build new cultures out of all of these separate parts but the problem occurs when the whole system gets derailed. This usually occurs because some group gets in to power and becomes the dominant group, which leads to their group thinking that their culture is the ideal culture and thinking that everyone after them has to assimilate and transform to be like them. The other part of the lecture that I found really interesting was the LGBT portion that Sam talked about. What I found extremely interesting was when he discussed the functions of the family. The point is brought up between straight people bearing a child and the issues that usually deal with gay couples adopting children. Sam made a very good point when he brought up the point that heterosexual couples engage in natural sex a lot but sometimes not with the intention of creating life. There are many families that keep their children, even if they were not expecting a child because of not agreeing with abortion, which leads to a child being raised in a poor family atmosphere. Gay couples on the other hand have to go through a lot of hassle and paperwork to be able to adopt a child. These couples would not go through all of the pain and the work if they truly did not want to have a kid, so there would not have to be as big as a concern about the family life the kid will have. Sam also brought up the point that even though children are brought up in homosexual households, does not mean that they will raise their kid to be gay. There are a lot of people that have been brought up by homosexual couples that have turned out to be straight. In most cases this has taught the kid to have a more open mind and understand more situations in society. The last fact that really stood out to me was increase in the corporate equality index. It went from only 13 corporations in 2002 to 260 corporations that were on board with LGBT ideas in 2009. This is a huge increase and has really shown how far our country has come in a couple of years. We also have to remember that these corporations are the ones making policies for the rest of society, so to some extent it really shows how much society is on board with this culture.

World In Conversation : Week 7 – Lesson 12: Multiculturalism & LGBT

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:14:17 +0000

I would have to agree a million percent with your post. I thought when you brought up the point of how inhuman and sickening it is that homosexuals in some areas are put in prison for doing sexual acts or just being homosexual in general. It truly is a question of humanity and ridiculous that this is still allowed in geographic areas in the world. I also agree with your feelings about how society it finally brining down the gay barrier and it is becoming more acceptable for people to come out of the closet. It isn’t as surprising to meet a gay person or couple in today’s society than it probably was about 15 years ago.

World In Conversation : Week 6 – Lesson 10: Stages of Racial Identity – People of Color: Stages 1-4

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 02:00:36 +0000

There were a lot of interesting points that hit me throughout the lectures. The first point of interest that stuck out to me was the different opinions when it came to freshman life in East Halls. Due to the fact that I am an athlete, I never had the opportunity to live in East Halls because we were always put into South Halls. It was very interesting to hear that minority people that receive scholarships are put into Pennypacker Hall and all of the rest of the minorities are dispersed in the rest of the dorms leaving about one on every floor to feel a little uncomfortable. But like Sam put it, it is hard to be away from your home and community to be put into a new community. It makes sense to put students of color with white students to integrate, increase friends and build bridges of ancestry groups but at the same time we want to give color students a sense of foundation cause you’re not use to all of the white people when you’re use to all black. The second part of the lecture that I found really interesting was when Sam brought up the idea that a lot of non-white people consider themselves white. It was crazy to think that a lot of Asians consider themselves to be white when white people like myself would never consider them to be of the white race. This just strengthens the argument that the community you life in really shapes your thoughts, ideas and ways of thinking. Another study that proves this to be true is the one where kids are asked to pick whether they would want to play with the white or black doll and which doll is considered to be the good or bad doll. In most cases the child picked the white doll to play with because that is what the community has shaped her to think. But on the other side of looking at things, maybe these kids feel this way because they have learned that black could mean hell and white means heaven and angels. When we look at our childhood and what made us scared, many times we were scared of the dark, or we were scared of thunderstorms, not only for their loud noises but also because of their big, black dark clouds So it isn’t just the community shaping these kids ideas solely due to race, but also do to the norms in everyday living and society.

World In Conversation : Week 6 – Lesson 10: Stages of Racial Identity – People of Color: Stages 1-4

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 01:43:50 +0000

I really enjoyed reading your response and seeing your point of view on this interesting lecture. I also found it really surprising that a lot of Asians consider themselves white because being a white female; I would never consider Asians white. It just goes to show much the community you grow up in really shapes your thoughts, ideas and ways of thinking. This also leads to the interesting study of the kids choosing the white doll over the black doll the majority of times. I agree with the fact that people have always shaped white people being good and clean and black/brown people being bad and ugly, but I also propose the idea that we have always learned darker equals bad and white equals good not just with race. Maybe these kids feel this way because they have learned that black could mean hell and white means heaven and angels. When we look at our childhood, many kids are scared of the dark and of thunderstorms, which have dark black clouds. So it isn’t only referring to race that these kids may choose these specific dolls but just life overall.

World In Conversation : Week 5 – Lesson 9: Stages of Racial Identity – White People: Stages 3 & 4

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:18:09 +0000

I found it very interesting that you brought up the idea of what it is like for brown and white people that are in charge and kings of their mountains in other countries. This class has also made me think of this idea and wonder if other countries act the same way we do. I also agree with your statement at some people don’t want this feeling of guilt to go away, especially the guilt that white people carry with them. It is a normal feeling but it is also the only way to move on. And the statement I agree with the most it using a washcloth. I literally laughed out loud when I read that, and I have always used one as well. I don’t understand how people clean themselves and get the dirt and smell off of them if they do not use one.

World In Conversation : Week 5 – Lesson 9: Stages of Racial Identity – White People: Stages 3 & 4

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:01:54 +0000

I thought it was really interesting to learn about the next racial identity stages. I thought it was extra interesting when Sam was describing the second stage of awakening. In this stage you are leaning the language of race communication. People start to question and wonder when it is okay to use racial and ethnic signifiers. He was explaining people that do not know him might find it strange that he uses the terms “bro” and “dude.” He gave the example that if he is at a gas stations and asks a black man there, “Hey Bro, can you pump my gas for me,” the black man might find it offensive or think Sam is trying to relate to the black man by calling him bro. It turns out that Sam just calls everyone bro, even his wife. This is when Sam brought up the next point dealing with racial identifiers and how people should learn the language of race. Just because they use these types of terms doesn’t mean they are racist, it is rather when you are thinking about race in situations when you should not be thinking about it. This made me all really think of the instances when I have referred to someone by their race and probably could have used another characteristic to describe them instead. I am a white woman and strongly agree with Sam’s statement that white people learn not to talk about race. We really are supposed to treat everyone equally and learn to not see color because if we do we may be called racist. Another point in the lecture that I found very interesting was when he described how black people think white people smell like wet dogs when they are wet. He took a vote in class asking how many black people use a washcloth to shower and how many white people use a washcloth in the shower. To my surprise it is not common for white people to use a washcloth in the shower, but rather black people to use it. He said this is because back during segregation and slavery, black people used washcloths because they were considered to not be clean people and having a washcloth would help them scrub the dirt off of them. Since white people were at the top of the mountain in that time, they were considered to be clean. I found this to be very interesting because I have used a washcloth my whole entire life and I am white. I would not think to take a shower without using once and until taking that poll in the classroom, I honestly thought basically everyone used a washcloth in the shower. So I agree with Sam when he joking asked what the white people clean themselves with.

World In Conversation : Week 5 – Lesson 8: Stages of Racial Identity – White People: Stages 1 & 2

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 23:18:26 +0000

This was a great prospective to the lecture and I really respect it a lot. As for me being a white female, it is insightful to hear your opinion on the topic coming from a black female prospective. It was interesting how you pointed out the fact that you as black community bring yourselves together to inform your kids and each other of what has happened in your past to protect yourself from racism an prejudice and how you said how do you know if this isn’t harming you as a community. I agree a million percent with you, just from a white female’s point of view I feel like it is extremely important to inform your kids of the past and what you guys as a race had to overcome but on the other hand if you continually teach each other this to protect one another, I feel like you’ll already label white people as trying to be prejudice and racist before giving them a chance because you have been raised to be protected from the way white people us to act. I know racism and prejudice is still around and an issue, but that was just a way I was also looking at the situation. But you are 100% right on your feelings and it is because of what you as a culture and race have overcome reminds you every day that you are black, and white people hardly ever take note to their skin color.

World In Conversation : Week 5 – Lesson 8: Stages of Racial Identity – White People: Stages 1 & 2

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 23:08:21 +0000

I found this lecture really interesting because it is something that not many, if any white people ever think about going through the day and how being white affects them. I really enjoyed the analogy he used about the tale of the white fish. Sam explained to the class, how the fish is the last to understand water and humans are the last to understand culture, which leads to whites – which are the last to understand what it means to be white. We constantly go through our daily routines never thinking of the advantages we get from being white. Sam is constantly bringing up the point that white people have affirmative action all over them because it is their skin color. This is the complete opposite from black because they are constantly talking about their race in conversations and where it has gotten them today, mostly because they were never in control – or King of the Hill. The other aspects to the lecture that I found very intriguing were the racial identity stages. Sam mostly talked about the white people stages of identity and how it shapes everything we do and how we experience things in society. I could not believe that white people usually get characterized as being in the pre-awakening stage. In this stage they are portrayed to be dumb, foolish, and not knowing about racial issues. I was interested to know where this statistic came from or the idea behind this because I don’t believe it to be true. White people and their ancestors may have not gone through the personal struggles and losses of other races, but I don’t believe that has made them ignorant about the issues. White people have addressed racial issues, but like it was pointed out, if you ask for example – 10 different black people what they would like to see change in society to make them equal to whites, you would receive ten different answers. So the solution you may pick might be considered to other people as being ignorant towards their race. White people may not have a deep personal connection to some experiences that ancestors to different races have gone through, which is why it may come off that they are acting foolish towards racial issues. I agree with Sam saying it is difficult to stay in that stage, and at the same time it is also true that white people could fall back into this stage at any point, as well as being in more than one stage at a time.

World In Conversation : Week 4 – Lesson 6: Race and Ethnic Inequality

Wed, 8 Jun 2011 20:45:59 +0000

I had to agree with your post. When Sam first asked Avery to come up in the beginning of class, I was wondering where this was all going. Once Sam pointed out the fact that you may not do some actions because they aren’t in the norm of society, it made me think back to one of the first lectures of who ever deemed swear words offensive. Sam made a point that I agree with, that they are just utterances out of your mouth that socially we have decided are offensive. I also thought of another example of how many times are you uncomfortable in public or a new boyfriend/ girlfriend and you have the urge to fart. In the comfort of your own home when you’re alone you can do these actions all you want, but some where in the timeline of society someone has deemed these actions unacceptable. I find this extremely interesting and wish I could meet the era of people to have a better understanding of why.

World In Conversation : Week 4 – Lesson 6: Race and Ethnic Inequality

Wed, 8 Jun 2011 20:38:48 +0000

What I found very interesting in Sam’s first lecture was his whole “King of the Hill” system and how it relates to how and why people are at the top and in control. In the society that we live in today, white people have by and large ruled the top of the mountain and have created a system based upon how they want to operate things. Because white people “rule the top of the mountain,” this has allowed them to make more money than other races, which ultimately leads to less white people in poverty. Like Sam gave the example in the lecture that the people are at the top could have gotten to where they are because of their intelligence, but a lot of time history will show that chance is 90% of who controls the top. It is by chance that you are born into the geographical area of where you live. It also is shown that the people that are at the top are more likely to give each other a break because you guys have something in common. This leads to his next point of why the correlation of race populations is not equal inside the jails and outside of the jails. Like Sam pointed out, it is hard to believe that racism does not play a role into these figures. Throughout history it is shown that people who are in control give their kind more breaks and will punish those that are different from those at the top. Another point that really stuck out to me was when Sam asked about the laws regarding inheritance. He posed the idea that when the wealthy people died in the world, the money would not be passed down to the next generation, but better yet dispersed into society. He also proposed the other option that the next generation that inherits the money should be taxed heavily so they aren’t just collecting all of this money. The twist to it all is that most poor people don’t realize this and when he asked the wealthy people of the class how they felt about this proposal none of them agreed. Why? Because these people are on top and they want to continue to be in control and not give to people that are different from them. I feel like he did a really good job explaining the two sides of the spectrum, but what about the people that fall in-between these areas, like the middle class people. I wonder if this impacts them at all or how they would feel in this situation.

World In Conversation : Week 3 – Lesson 5: Social Inequality

Mon, 6 Jun 2011 03:21:42 +0000

I agree and found your post very interesting. I never thought of the reasoning that Asians usually have a wider extended family, which may lead to them having a larger totally family income total. It made sense to me that they were wealthier because they hold high positions, like you said, in the medical and engineering fields but having a larger family never crossed my mind. It is important that we have to remember that these are family incomes and not individual incomes. When we take people apart from the race group that they are a apart of, it is too difficult to guess which person makes the most money.

World In Conversation : Week 3 – Lesson 5: Social Inequality

Mon, 6 Jun 2011 03:13:48 +0000

What I found very interesting that Sam pointed out was at the beginning of the first lecture in lesson 5 when he brought up the eight kids to the front of the classroom. Four of theses kids were white, two were black, and two were brown. He pointed out the fact that you can group people of the same race and ethnicity together and will make up the average income and wealth of the races in the United States. It was interesting because Sam grouped the four white people together and pointed out that these people would be the wealthiest in the U.S per capita. He went down the line and asked each person their ethnicity, which was really surprising at some of the responses. I would have never guessed that the one kid was Egyptian or the kid in the black category was Chinese. This pointed out Sam’s next point that individually we can’t guess who would be the wealthiest but as a group they make up this average. I found this part of the lesson really interesting because I come from a mostly white rural area. Every “wealthy” person that I know in my area is a white family. This is because most of them have their own business or own farms, but this lecture opened my eyes to show that wealth is dispersed throughout ethnicities and races. It may just be in the geographic area that I live in that is predominately white and rich. I look at television shows like the Housewives of Atlanta, which shows mostly brown and black families living in giant homes that are labeled wealthy. It may be because of where they geographically live, that mostly wealthy brown or black individuals may surround these families. This lecture really helped me to understand that just because grouped together Whites and Asians are considered the wealthiest but that doesn’t mean individually they are always the wealthiest compared individually to people of other races.

World In Conversation : Week 3 – Lesson 4: Ethnocentrism

Wed, 1 Jun 2011 22:18:42 +0000

I thought that when Sam made the classroom sit trough the lecture as an Arab-Muslim really opened a lot of people’s eyes; I know it did for me at least. I understood Sam’s example when he stated that the reason we were still going over to the Middle East is to try and take their oil. I found this very interesting because there is the on going debate here in the United States whether we should drill up in Alaska for oil, but many people feel we shouldn’t because it would cause destruction to the wild life and destroy the land. I realize the Middle East has a lot more oil production in their location but what makes it right for us to go into the Middle East and try to take what is theirs. I may not be very knowledgeable in this area, but I don’t see the Middle East coming over to try and take things from American. I wondering if this is just our narrow minded way of thinking, or if things would be different if we did have a significant amount of oil here in the United States that would attract people to us. After Sam making us look through these types of situations in other people’s eyes really opened up mine. I also have this type of debate with war. For example, after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon set the United States into outrage and tears. It is now ten years later and people are still mourning the loss of loved ones and not over the tragic events that took place that day. Yet, these same people supported the institutional violence of the United States’ military response in Afghanistan and Iraq. Do we ever stop think what we are doing to the innocent people in the Middle East that are affected by our actions? This relates to the personal story that Sam told during lecture about the woman who asked the American to take her family’s photo on the street. It was amazing to see how she wanted the American to bring back the photo and show it to the people in the United States to show that they are just like us in American and don’t want the continual violent wars either. I also think violent and negative videos that have surfaced the internet also have a big impact on how people feel about other cultures in recent times.

World In Conversation : Week 3 – Lesson 4: Ethnocentrism

Wed, 1 Jun 2011 20:57:03 +0000

I found your post to be very intriguing, and enlightening for a number of reasons. The first reason is that I enjoyed hearing your opinion on Sam’s lecture, since you had him before. I feel like we get so caught up in the material and the information he is giving to us, it is nice to hear people’s opinions on the professor and if we agree or disagree with what he is teaching us, especially in sociology where there is room for differences in opinions and debate. I also agree with your Penn State vs. Ohio State debate and thought process. During the lecture I found it very thought provoking how Sam wanted all of the students to have the mind set that they are Arab-Muslims and it is a point of view I never thought of taking. I found your statement very true that if people are too lazy to learn about other cultures then they should not be able to make judgments on others. People believe that their group’s way is the right way of doing things, but how can they be so sure if they never take the time to experience life through another cultures prospective.

World In Conversation : Week Two – Lesson 2: Intro to Race

Thu, 26 May 2011 02:46:51 +0000

I found your statement really amazing because I grew up to not see color either. As a while female, growing up in Lancaster County, which is known for Amish Country, I would have thought I learned differently. When my parents too me to daycare, it was a prominently Black and Asian daycare that took care of me. Ever since I was little I never looked at anyone differently, or judged them based upon their skin color. Once I got to high school things were different and the inner city kids, did not get along with the country kids and vice versa. There were many fights within the school and eventually a motivation activist speaker came in to change things around. It still boggles my mind that where I grew up it was mostly the whites having a problem with the blacks in the area. It all holds true in the end when it was proven that the Europeans were the ones that created race to begin with.

World In Conversation : Week Two – Lesson 2: Intro to Race

Thu, 26 May 2011 02:41:41 +0000

What caught my attention in this lecture is when you asked for a 4.0 student in the classroom. It also surprised at the fact that out of the entire classroom only one engineer student was a 4.0 student. But anyway, once the kid came to the front of the classroom you asked him to stand there while you picked out different kids in the class from different races and ethnicities. It was extra funny to hear the comments and questions you were asking the kids to see what ethnicity and race they were to trick him. Once everyone got to the front of the classroom, you asked the 4.0 student to arrange the kids based on what race/ethnicity category you thought they fit in. It was funny because the kid took a little bit of time but in the end, he didn’t even have to white kids all divided into the same category, let alone the kids that weren’t of his ethnicity. This just showed that you couldn’t judge people based on the skin tone and color of their skin. Personally, I probably couldn’t have been able to do any better because the color of skin is how I would have grouped people into categories, not giving a second thought. It was crazy to me how the one kid was Palestinian when the 4.0 student really grouped him into the white category. I would not have grouped a person white if they up to me telling me that they are Palestinian, but other might have a different theory, like the kid in class. It was also mind boggling to me of how white people always place themselves at the top of everything. It is crazy how after a while everyone is so use to how things run that they just accept the race or culture that is in charge. For example the man, Carolus Linneaus, made himself superior to everyone else around him solely for the fact that he was white. If for instance he was another race or culture, I am sure that he would try to place himself at the top of the list as well to make him superior. He talked about whites being a gentle race, while blacks on the other hand were a crafty, lazy and negligent race. This is all really ironic because it was the black people at the time doing all of the work. These were the people that were out in the fields every day, all day doing the yard work to keep the white owners in business. So really what race is to say who is lazy and who isn’t when they all completed different tasks to get the job done in the end.